title: Imaging in catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: enhancing the clinician's view.
abstract: Catheter ablation is an effective treatment for symptomatic atrial fibrillation. A thorough understanding of the left atrium anatomy and its adjacent structures is critical for the success of the procedure and for avoiding complications. Pre-procedural imaging aims at determining left atrial size, anatomy, and function and is also used to rule out an atrial thrombus. During the procedure, while fluoroscopy remains the gold standard imaging modality for guiding transseptal catheterization and catheter ablation, numerous other imaging modalities have been developed to improve 3D navigation and ablation. Finally, post-operative imaging intends to monitor heart function and to search for potential complications like pulmonary vein stenosis or the rare but dramatic atrio-oesophageal fistula. This review discusses the relative merits of all imaging modalities available in the context of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.
authors.affiliation: Service de Rythmologie, Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévêque, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux II, Avenue de Magellan, Bordeaux-Pessac 33604, France. sebastien.knecht@chu-brugmann.be
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Knecht
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nault
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Seiichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lellouche
authors.forename: Porur E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Somasundaram
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: Kang-Teng
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sacher
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deplagne
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bordachar
authors.forename: Mélèze
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hocini
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clémenty
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haïssaguerre
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jaïs
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping / Q000639:trends*; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000639:trends*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000639:trends*